I am what the average person would call thrifty, my friends call cheap and my grandfather calls Bohemian. This obsession, and its resulting coupon clipping and price scourging come at great conflict with one of my other family passed on traits, a love for food. Blame my six + feet of length, but my consumption patterns and taste bud desires challenge my commitment to the dollar bill.
For Spring Break, I chose to stay put and bask in the glory of an empty apartment. Though I have barely experienced the "break," I was allotted with enough spare time to enjoy one of my favorite parts of New York--the grocery stores.
Its not my inner homemaker, or burgeoning chef extraordinaire, that fuels my passion for these seemingly run-of-the-mill outposts, its the shear cultural deprivation I suffered as a youth.
In my hometown, 88.32% of the residents are Caucasian, in New York City, 31.5% are.
Which is why seeing ingredients in a foreign language, or even matzo ball soup* mix breeds this ridiculous enthusiasm.
*In addition to being overwhelmingly white, residents were either Mormon or Christian--in my sixteen years there I have met a total of 2 Jewish families.
Along with the diverse ingredients, the diverse markets attracted to grocery stores allow for some great price deals, and not just by Manhattan standards.
A round-up of my Tuesday grocery celebration, and the exquisite grocery stores that made it happen:
Batista Market & Grocer in Essex Street Market:
Essex is all together wonderful, but due to it's cheap produce, Mexican stock list and bulk grains and beans, its usually my only stop.
My recommendations:
-Cilantro $1 (Freeze it)
-Red Onion $.65
-5 heads of garlic, $ .89
-$.89 p. lb. grains. This is vegetarian heaven, I bought a bag of lentils for just over $3 in January, and still haven't finished them.
-Coconut Milk, $1.25
Drugstores
Okay people, your grandparents had something going when they clipped coupons out of the weekly circulars. It is totally worth it to check the online ads for Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, Duane Reade etc.
- 5 lb. bag of flour (with coupon) 2 for $3, As a baker and tortilla maker, I will never get over this. Also, someone was handing out free candy outside the Union Square location, to promote something = energy for carrying 10 lbs. of flour back to the apt.
Union Square Greenmarket
- 3 lbs. apples, $1. I don't know why you're still reading this, unless of course its a Tuesday or Thursday. Go buy these. Now.
Trader Joes
Going to the Manhattan Trader Joe's is an important New York experience. Besides being cheap and delicious, the famous line is a worthwhile exercise in social psychology.
Though the low prices and addictive only-at-TJ's foods (maple-brown sugar granola anyone?) may drive you to purchase half the stock list (or whatever is still there at the end of the day), sticking to a few things will keep you within a more than manageable budget.
-Frozen veggies. Bags of broccoli, peas, corn, red peppers, are all under $2.
-Dried pasta. Under $2 again.
[that's already a meal for a week]
-Bananas $.19, Apples, $.49 (Cheaper than the food stand outside)
-$.99 Quart of milk (cheapest in the city)
No comments:
Post a Comment